Michigan Medicine is new name for University of Michigan Health System

Michigan Medicine is the new name for the University of Michigan Health System, a name that reflects UM's triple mission of patient care, education and research, according to a statement from the university Monday.

Marschall Runge, M.D., will serve as CEO of Michigan Medicine, which combines UM's three hospitals and outpatient medical centers. Runge has been dean of the University of Michigan Medical School and executive vice president for medical affairs.

"We remain committed to extraordinary patient care, world-class medical education, being an employer of choice for faculty and staff, and moving groundbreaking research from bench to bedside in order to save and improve lives," Runge said in a statement.

The UM board of regents approved the change in September. They felt a single leader could increase collaboration between academic, research and health care professionals in the academic medical center.

"We expect Michigan Medicine will help generate a better understanding of the strengths of our academic medical center and will energize all our faculty and staff," Runge said. "Patients should only see better patient care as we minimize operational redundancies and increase greater cohesiveness between units. We will be better poised for success going forward."

Runge was hired by UM in March 2015 after serving as dean of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. As head of UMHS, he replaced Ora Pescovitz, M.D., who left UM for a job at Eli Lilly in Indianapolis and James Woolliscroft, who stepped down as medical school dean at the end of 2015.